Hearing Wendy Lynch’s question, Gordon Lynch quickly waved his hands.
"No traveling for me. The factory has an endless backlog of orders lately. They’re only giving us two days off for the National Day holiday, and they said we’ll have to work overtime every day after that to catch up on the schedule."
He put down his chopsticks and subconsciously rubbed his lower back.
"I don’t know what’s wrong with my old back lately, but it hurts like crazy if I sit for too long. I think I’ll just rest at home these next two days. I don’t want to exhaust myself traveling."
The smile on Wendy’s face stiffened slightly at his words. On her way back, she had actually brainstormed several great vacation spots. Coronet City, Cerulean Isle, or Silverport. They weren’t too far, had plenty of attractions, and were perfect for a family trip. But these proposals instantly lodged in her throat. She couldn’t say a single word. She looked at the few strands of white hair that had unknowingly appeared at her father’s temples, and the exhaustion on her mother’s face that couldn’t be concealed even under the warm lights.
Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. Before, her hands had been tied. But now, things were different. She had the future emails, which meant she possessed the power to change their future. She could perhaps allow her parents to retire early, so they wouldn’t have to overdraw their health for a measly dozen or so yuan an hour in overtime pay.
Wendy quietly glanced at her mobile banking app: 743,254.18 yuan. To the wealthy, over seven hundred thousand was just the price of a car, but to an ordinary working-class family, it was a massive fortune. However, to support her parents in a peaceful, worry-free retirement, over seven hundred thousand seemed... just a bit short.
Seven hundred thousand was nowhere near enough; she needed seven million! She secretly made up her mind. She had to earn seven million as soon as possible and let her parents retire immediately!
After dinner, Wendy was washing dishes in the kitchen when her phone let out a DING. It was a message from her cousin, Charlotte Lynch.
[Yara is Not Yara:
Sis! Are you there? I want to go to Yunaris for the National Day holiday. Do you want to come with me?
I just checked, and it’s the off-season right now. A round-trip flight is only a little over nine hundred in total!
Homestays and hotels are so cheap too—just one or two hundred a night!]
This was followed by a string of cute, pleading emojis.
Charlotte was her third uncle’s daughter, two years younger than Wendy, and currently a sophomore in college. The two had grown up together and were as close as biological sisters.
To Yunaris... Since her parents couldn’t go, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go out and relax by herself. More importantly, traveling around might trigger new future emails. Sitting at home daydreaming wouldn’t make money fall from the sky. Thinking of this, she dried her hands and quickly replied.
[Sounds good. When are you planning to go?]
[Yara is Not Yara:
Yay!!! Awesome!
How about we leave tomorrow afternoon?!
I’ll go look up travel guides and book the flights right now! Wait for my news, Sis!]
Looking at her cousin’s messages, a smile graced Wendy’s face. The two chatted back and forth with extreme efficiency, and in just a dozen minutes or so, they finalized the entire itinerary. Wendy was in charge of booking the flights and the homestay, while Charlotte was responsible for planning a rough sightseeing route. With the itinerary settled, Wendy quickly packed her luggage.
In the blink of an eye, it was midnight. Wendy was browsing Yunaris travel guides on her computer when she heard her phone alarm go off. She immediately opened her email.
[You have a letter from October 3, 2025]
[The homestay owner is so nice, and the restaurant she recommended is delicious!]
[First time seeing stone gambling, and I actually saw someone cut out jade!]
[A fist-sized black sand rough, with just a small window cut into it, was actually worth 300,000!]
[Good Luck Stone Gambling—the name of this shop is quite interesting too.]
[That lady’s luck was amazing. The two stones she picked both yielded jade!]
[Yara and I each bought one, but our luck was terrible. They were full of marble inside!!!]
The email’s contents were brief, but they made Wendy’s heart race.
Stone gambling? She had only seen this term in novels and on TV. One cut to rags, one cut to riches. She didn’t expect to actually have the chance to experience it for herself.
Wendy immediately searched for information related to stone gambling on her computer. The ’small window’ mentioned in the email likely referred to a half-open window. This meant cutting a small opening in the jade rough to reveal part of the jade flesh inside. Black sand rough was a special variety of jade rough, named for the layer of black or dark gray crust covering its surface. The crust of this type of jade rough was usually quite coarse, and its color was mostly black. Black sand roughs usually only yielded Bean Grade jade, but there was also a certain probability of finding Ice Grade or even Imperial Green jade.
After reading the information online, Wendy’s eyes lit up.
Three hundred thousand! A tiny gambling stone was actually worth three hundred thousand! It seemed her decision to travel around was indeed the right one. Opportunities were only reserved for those who took the initiative.
Wendy rubbed her hands together excitedly. Although the information in the email wasn’t extensive, it was comprehensive enough. She had the name of the stone gambling shop, the size of the stone, and the person who bought it. As long as she could swoop in and snatch the stone before the other person bought it, that 300,000-yuan gambling stone would be hers.
Early the next morning, Wendy packed her suitcase and got ready to head out. Lana Miller and Gordon Lynch had a rare day off today and were sitting in the living room watching TV. Wendy walked up to her mother, pulled a bank card from her bag, and pressed it into Lana’s hand.
"Mom, there’s fifty thousand yuan on this card. The PIN is your birthday.
"You and Dad shouldn’t work so hard anymore. Just work your regular hours. Stop working overtime at the drop of a hat. You’re not young anymore. Buy some good food when you want to, and get some new clothes when you need them."
Lana acted as if she had been burned and immediately tried to push the card back.
"What nonsense are you talking about, child! Keep your lottery winnings for yourself. You might need it to buy a house where you work in the future! Your dad and I are only fifty. It’s our prime time to hustle. We don’t need you worrying about us!"
Gordon chimed in from the side.
"Exactly. Our factory has a cafeteria anyway. You’re out there all by yourself, and you’ll have plenty of places to spend your money."
However, Wendy stood firm. She shoved the card back into her mother’s hand and pressed down tightly on it.
"Mom, listen to me. Keeping this money won’t do me much good. You’ve worked hard your whole lives; it’s time you enjoyed some peace and comfort. Dad’s back isn’t good, so he shouldn’t go trying to earn that little bit of overtime pay. Take this money and go get his back properly checked out at the hospital."
She looked at the heartache and reluctance in her parents’ eyes, and her tone softened a bit.
"Besides, your daughter is capable now, and I’ll earn even more money in the future. Just take this money and spend it for now. Treat it as my way of honoring you."
Seeing her daughter’s resolute attitude, Lana’s eyes reddened slightly, though she was still nagging.
"You child, really..."
In the end, she couldn’t win against her daughter and accepted the card, though she repeatedly reminded Wendy to take good care of herself out there and not be too frugal.
After saying goodbye to her parents, Wendy rolled her suitcase out the door and set off for the airport. Around noon, the plane took off on time, carrying the expectations of the two girls as it soared into the clouds.
[Bad news. This book’s ranking competition mysteriously failed.]
[I checked the backend data, and it clearly looks pretty good.]
[The editor told me to quickly drop this and start a new book, but I’ve already written over a hundred thousand words, and I really can’t bear to part with it.]
[Please stop hoarding Chapters and read them! Quickly make the editor drop her idea!]